Clark College men’s basketball to ramp up tempo

It goes by fast.

That can be said about many things with this season’s Clark College men’s basketball team.

For one, the glow of winning last year’s Northwest Athletic Conference championship is now limited mostly to the trophy case. As with many two-year athletic programs, Clark’s roster is almost completely new.

Secondly, Clark expects to play extremely fast. When the shuffle of the recruiting season ended, coach Alex Kirk saw that a small, athletic team was in the cards.

Of the 13 players on the roster, only four are 6-foot-4 or taller.

“We’ve got the deepest guard group that we’ve ever had,” Kirk said. “I don’t know that we’ll have any one particular guy who has earth-shattering stats, but I think the consistency and athleticism of this group seems to be pretty high.”

And so the Penguins won’t march, they’ll run. Clark has scored 93 and 96 points in season-opening wins over Tacoma Community College and Multnomah University’s JV.

Micah Paulson is one freshman who is familiar to Clark County high school basketball fans. The 4A Greater St. Helens League player of the year led Union to the 4A state semifinals last year.

Paulson hoped his strong senior season would earn him a scholarship at a four-year school, but that didn’t happen. So Paulson, like many on this year’s roster, hopes to use Clark as a springboard to a larger program.

“These guys are all just like me,” Paulson said. “They all got overlooked. People underestimated them and didn’t give them the opportunity, so we’re all fighting for that next spot. Whether it’s (Division) one, D-two, D-three or whatever, we’re all trying to get our school paid for and make our families proud.”

Paulson, a 6-foot guard, led Clark with 15 points in 27 minutes against Multnomah.

“Micah is as tough of a guy for a true freshman that we’ve probably ever had in our program,” Kirk said. “He doesn’t do any one particular thing that stands out. I mean that in a good way because he’s so balanced as a player.”

Paulson said his game has grown in a short period of time, though Clark’s high tempo has taken some getting used to.

“We want to outrun every team we come up against,” Paulson said. “That’s something I’m adjusting to right now. I used to be able to get back and take a little break because I was faster than everybody else. Now everybody is faster than me, so I’m having to put it into full gear all the time.”

Paulson is one of two players from Clark County on the roster. The other is Chad Love, a freshman from Columbia River.

Two players who saw significant action last year are back. Darrius Mathis and Bryan Berg can tell teammates what it takes to win a NWAC title.

“Basically I just tell them to believe in the system because that’s what got us there in the first place,” Mathis said. “It can get ugly at times, but you’ve got to stick with it.”

Clark’s home opener is Friday against Wenatchee Valley. The season culminates with the NWAC Championships March 10-13 in Everett.

Kirk is looking forward to finding out what this year’s team will become by then.

“Early in the year we’re trying to find out what our identity is,” he said. “Who are we going to be in January, February or March? We don’t know. But we know we want to show up every day with a great attitude.”

CLARK COLLEGE MEN’S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE

Nov. 20 Tacoma CC 93-64

Nov. 24 Multnomah JV 96-65

Dec. 2 Pierce College 7 p.m.

Dec. 4 WENATCHEE VALLEY 7 p.m.

Dec. 10 CONCORDIA JV 7 p.m.

Dec. 12 PENINSULA 5 p.m.

Dec. 15 CENTRALIA 7 p.m.

Dec. 17-19 Lane Crossover Tournament

Dec. 27 ALUMNI GAME 6 p.m.

Dec. 30 LOWER COLUMBIA 7 p.m.

Jan. 2 LANE 4 p.m.

Jan. 6 Mt. Hood 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 9 Southwestern Oregon 4 p.m.

Jan. 13 PORTLAND COLLEGE 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 18 Linn Benton 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 20 CHEMEKETA 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 23 UMPQUA 4 p.m.

Jan. 27 Clackamas 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 30 Lane 4 p.m.

Feb. 3 MT. HOOD 7:30 p.m.

Feb. 6 SOUTHWESTERN OREGON 4 p.m.

Feb. 10 Portland College 7:30 p.m.

Feb. 17 Chemeketa 7:30 p.m.

Feb. 20 LINN BENTON 4 p.m.

Feb. 24 CLACKAMAS 7:30 p.m.

Feb. 27 Umpqua 4 p.m.

March 10-13 NWAC Championships in Everett

Home games in CAPS.

All home games played at O’Connell Sports Center, 1933 Fort Vancouver Way.